AMA Superbike, Road Atlanta Preview

With two wins, a podium and a fourth-place finish, Jordan Suzuki rider Jake Zemke leads the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship with 106 points after two rounds.

But things may change this weekend as the series moves to Road Atlanta for the third of 10 rounds. Tommy Hayden heads into Georgia after winning his first ever Superbike race at Fontana. With the win, and back-to-back second-place finishes at Daytona, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider is just 11 points behind Zemke.

Sitting in third with 70 points is Larry Pegram. The Foremost Insurance Ducati rider won Race 1 at Fontana, and was strong in Race 2 until crashing out on lap 9. The rider/owner has told the press that he’s going to be the biggest challenger this year…and his performance so far has shown this.

The only rider out of the entire Superbike grid with a win at Road Atlanta is Zemke’s teammate Aaron Yates. The Georgia native began the season strong, qualifying for the pole in Daytona and Fontana, but will not be racing at Atlanta due to his injuries from his wreck during the warm-up session in Fontana.

After losing the front end of his GSX-R1000R, Yates hit the pavement. While down, M4 Monster Suzuki rider Chris Ulrich ran over the top of Yates’ leg, causing two separate fractures. While Yates recovers, Celtic Racing Suzuki rider Brett McCormick of the Canadian Superbike series will ride the Jordan Suzuki.

The other rider out is M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s John Hopkins, who underwent surgery after the Fontana round to fix scar tissue on his right wrist.

During last year’s race at the 2.56-mile track, Mat Mladin won swept both races, going on to win a record-breaking seventh American Superbike Championship.

SPEED TV will air Race 1 at 11 p.m. (EST) Saturday, and Race 2 on Sunday at midnight.

For current results and standings, click here.